Anand Sharma to seek more help for Indian exporters

New Delhi, June 4 (ANI): Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has said that the ministry will ask the Ministry of Finance for more relief measures for exporters.

"We will be making specific recommendations to the fiance ministry, sector specific as well as policy measures to give stimulus to the industries, as I mentioned earlier...I am repeating it, labour intensive sectors, also intensive for exporters and to make Indian products globally competitive, what we are exporting," Sharma said.

" The commerce ministry would also try to offer more incentives to exporters at the next trade policy review," he added.

Asked if there was room for the central bank to lower interest rates further, he said: "Yes there is a case, but again that decision will be taken by the Reserve Bank of India and the finance ministry but we will be taking it up."

The central bank has cut its key lending rate by 425 basis points since ctober 2008, while the finance ministry has been prodding state-run banks to lower their lending rates.

But exporters are still grappling with high costs and falling overseas demand, and the head of an export lobby said they expect exports to be lower by a fifth in the first half of 2009/10 fiscal year that began in April.

India's exports fell by a third in April, their seventh straight fall. (ANI)